Adelson's Romney-boosting support reportedly 'limitless'

By Maggie Haberman

06/14/12 12:05 AM EDT

Via Forbes, and the one reporter with whom Sheldon Adelson has done a lengthy interview this cycle about his political giving, the casino magnate is raising the bar on what it means to be a mega-donor in the super PAC era after his $10 million donation to the pro-Mitt Romney Restore Our Future (divided, as the Newt Gingrich donations were, between the magnate and his wife, according to sources):

A well-placed source in the Adelson camp with direct knowledge of the casino billionaire’s thinking says that further donations will be “limitless.”

Adelson, who has built Las Vegas Sands into an global casino empire, will do “whatever it takes” to defeat Obama, this source says. And given that Adelson is worth $24.9 billion – and told Forbes in a recent rare interview about his political giving that he had been willing to donate as much as $100 million to his initial presidential preference, Newt Gingrich – that “limitless” description telegraphs potential nine-digit support of Romney.

Adelson, this source continues, believes that “no price is too high” to protect the U.S. from what he sees as Obama’s “socialization” of America, as well as securing the safety of Israel. He added that Adelson, 78, considers this to be the most important election of his lifetime.

The bolding is mine, for emphasis. Presumably Adelson wants to hear more from Romney about his position on Israel, the single most important issue to the Las Vegas businessman, who, as Forbes notes, has been among the people who's actually fared well financially under the Obama presidency.

But Romney has given every indication that he will steer hard-right on Israel, including by his public discussion of his history with Bibi Netanyahu.

It's unclear whether Adelson is indeed planning on funneling lots of support directly into ROF, or if the "limitless" comments includes other outside groups that are dedicated to defeating the president. But the comments come at a time when there is some level of competition between ROF and the Karl Rove-founded American Crossroads for the pool of major donors.

Adelson has a reputation as a contrarian, meaning he can relay plans to do something and then change his mind quickly. But wherever he plans to send his money, Adelson is clearly signaling that the $10 million donation — less than half of what his family gave to Gingrich's super PAC — is an opening bid, not a closing one.